Section Text
(1) With effectfrom such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette appoint in this behalf, there shall be established for the purposes ofthis Act, a Board to be called the Coconut Development Board.
(2)The Board shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetualsuccession and common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property,both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall by the said name sue andbe sued.
(3)The head office of the Board shall be at such place as the Central Governmentmay, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.
(4)The Board shall consist of the following members, namely;-
(a)a Chairman, to be appointed by the Central Government;
(b)1 [theHorticulture Commissioner] tothe Government of India, ex officio;
(c)the Director, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (Indian Council ofAgricultural Research), ex officio;
(d)the Chairman of the Coir Board constituted under section 4 of the Coir IndustryAct, 1953, (45 of 1953) ex officio;
(e)three members of Parliament of whom two shall be elected by the House of thepeople and one by the Council of states;
(f)two members to be appointed by the Central Government to represent respectivelythe Ministries of the Central Government dealing with--
(i)Revenue; and
(ii)Civil Supplies and Co-operation;
(g)three members to be appointed by the Central Government one each to representthe Government of the States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, being Stateswherein coconut is grown on a large scale;
(h)five members to be appointed by the Central Government by rotation in thealphabetical order to represent the States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra,Orissa and West Bengal and the Union territories of the Andaman and NicobarIslands, Goa, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry;
(I)four members to be appointed by the Central Government two to represent thecoconut growers of the State of Kerala and one each to represent the coconutgrowers of the States of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka;
(j)one member to be appointed by the Central Government to represent the coconutprocessing industry;
(k)two members to be appointed by the Central Government to represent such otherinterests connected with the coconut industry as, in the opinion of thatGovernment, ought to be represented:
Providedthat every appointment under clauses (g) and (h) shall be made on therecommendation of the State Government or, as the case may be, of the Unionterritory concerned.
(5)The Board shall elect, from amongst its members, a Vice-Chair-man who shallexercise such of the powers and perform such of the functions of the Chairman asmay be prescribed or as may be delegated to him by the Chairman.
(6)The term of office of the members and the manner of filling vacancies among, andthe procedure to be followed in the discharge of their functions by, the membersshall be such as may be prescribed.
(7)Any officer of the Central Government, not being a member of the Board, whendeputed by that Government in this behalf, shall have the right to attend themeetings of the Board and take part in the proceedings thereof but shall not beentitled to vote.
(8)The Board may associate with itself in such manner, subject to such conditionsand for such purposes as may be prescribed, any person whose assistance oradvice it may desire in complying with any of the provisions of this Act and aperson so associated shall have the right to take part in the discussions of theBoard relevant to the purposes for which he has been associated but shall nothave the right to vote and shall be entitled to receive such allowances or feesas may be fixed by the Central Government.
(9)No act or proceeding of the Board or any committee appointed by it under section9 shall be invalidated merely by reason of--
(a)any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Board or suchcommittee; or
(b)any defect in the appointment of a person acting as a member of the Board orsuch committee; or
(c)any irregularity in the procedure of the Board or such committee not affectingthe merits of the case.
(10)The Board shall meet at such times and places and shall observe such rules ofprocedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (includingthe quorum at meetings) as may be provided by regulations made by the Boardunder this Act.
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1.Substituted for "the Agriculture Commissioner" by the Coconut DevelopmentBoard (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 05-08-1987.